Frequently Asked Interview Questions in Informatica

1. What is Informatica PowerCenter?

PowerCenter is data integration software of Informatica Corporation which provides an environment that allows to load data into a centralized location such as data warehouse. Data can be extracted from multiple sources can be transformed according to the business logic and can be loaded into files and relation targets.

2. What are the components of Informatica PowerCenter?

Following are the various components of Informatica PowerCenter:

• PowerCentre Domain
• PowerCenter Repository
• Administration Console
• PowerCenter Client
• Repository Service
• Integration service
• Web Services Hub
• Data Analyzer
• Metadata Manager
• PowerCenter Repository Reports

3. What is Data Integration?

Data Integration is the process of combining data residing at different sources and providing the user with a unified view of these data.

4. Explain PowerCenter Repository.

The repository consists of database tables that store metadata. PowerCenter Repository allows you to share metadata among different repositories and to create a data mart domain.

5. What are the types of metadata that stores in repository?

Below are the different types of metadata that can be stored in the repository of Informatica PowerCenter:

• Source definition
• Target definition
• Mappings
• Mapplet
• Mapplet
• Transformations
• Be able to employ transformations such as Joiner, Update Strategy, Router, Filter, LookUp, Normalizer, UDT, SQL, Aggregator etc and determine effect of such transformations on performance.
• Be able to handle very large files of various formats
• Use mapping/ session/ workflow variables & parameters in a parameter file
• Use all tasks such as Decision, Command, event
• Be able to write and call ftp, email scripts from tasks
• Be able to performance tune the mapping and identify bottlenecks in the mapping and system
• Load order
• Setting up session configuration for optimal performance
• Be able to learn and keep abreast of new developments/ functionality of the tool

6. What is a Mapping?

A mapping is a set of source and target definitions linked by transformation objects that define the rules for data transformation. Mappings represent the data flow between sources and targets.

7. What is a mapplet?

A mapplet is a reusable object that contains a set of transformations and enables to reuse that transformation logic in multiple mappings.

8. What is Transformation?

A transformation is a repository object that generates, modifies or passes data. Transformations in a mapping represent the operations the Integration Service performs on the data. Data passes through transformation ports that are linked in a mapping or mapplet.